Travel Log: Hermosillo, Mexico

Yesterday was a full day of travel as I made my way from Phoenix, AZ, to Hermosillo, MX. 

I wasn't sure what to expect when crossing the international border in Nogales, but it was basically a non-event. No one approached our car or stopped us. We slowly navigated through the checkpoint, and then poof, we were on the other side. It definitely did not look like "the US with signs in Spanish." It was very chaotic, with cars navigating unmarked streets and people out on the streets selling goods. The street markings look like they were applied once and then never refreshed. 

The first challenge I encountered was speed limits in km/hr. The rental car has a digital display set to mph, so I had to do some mental math and gauge traffic speeds to ensure I didn't get attention from the policía. Once we were out of the chaos of Nogales, things smoothed out a bit, and the route to Hermosillo was largely sparse and uneventful. Every so often, we came across a deliberately slowed area where vendors would stand in the middle of the highway to sell nuts or other items. I saw a vendor holding bird cages with live birds ready for sale. 

The roads were pretty well-maintained, but ironically, the road in bad shape was the toll road. We paid two tolls: the first one was 38 pesos and the second one was 114 pesos. For reference, $1 US is just under 18 pesos. 

We made it to the Vital Health Global headquarters, and that's when I realized my business partner, Chef Z, who coordinated this event, had kept everyone in the dark. I knew there were certain people she didn't want to be aware of our arrival, but I didn't know everyone was clueless. As a result, we were unable to do the factory tour, which was saved for this morning. We visited the Mexico retail store, and I was able to buy products at lower prices (without taxes or shipping charges), including items sold only in Mexico.

After the shopping trip, we visited a recommended restaurant and had some amazing, authentic Sonoran food. The hotel is a Courtyard by Marriott, which has all the standard amenities, with one unusual element — a slot in the wall for the room key to activate the AC unit. I've never seen such a thing.

We found enough people who speak English, and I practiced some Spanish. It's been a great experience so far, and I'm looking forward to the tour today and a safe drive back to Arizona.